What Happened in July 1962

Historical Events

  • Jul 1 Algeria votes for independence from France
  • Jul 1 Burundi & Rwanda gain independence from Belgium (National Days)

First Walmart Opens

Jul 2 Sam Walton opens his first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas

  • Jul 3 Algerian Revolution against French rule ends (Algeria gains independence on 5th July)
  • Jul 4 KIKU (now KHNL) TV channel 13 in Honolulu, HI (IND) 1st broadcast
  • Jul 5 Algeria gains independence after 132 years of French rule
  • Jul 5 Massacre in Oran, Algeria: members of Algerian National Liberation Army kill Pied-Noir (Algerians of European descent) and European expatriates in ethnic genocide upon Algerian independence from France killing an estimated 95 to 400 people over 3 days
  • Jul 6 Emir Said al-Djazairi takes van Algerian throne in Syria
  • Jul 6 Nuclear test shot Sedan; part of Operation Plowshare

Baseball Record

Jul 6 NY Yankees 'M&M boys' Roger Maris & Mickey Mantle hit 2 HRs each in 7-5 win v Twins, Mantle his 4th consecutive homer

Wimbledon Men's Tennis

Jul 6 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Rod Laver beats fellow Australian Martin Mulligan 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 for the 3rd leg of his first Grand Slam

  • Jul 7 Bill Hartack becomes 8th jockey to win 3,000 American thoroughbred races
  • Jul 7 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • Jul 7 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: American Karen Susman beats Věra Suková of Czechoslovakia 6-4, 6-4 for her only Grand Slam singles title

Event of Interest

Jul 9 Andy Warhol's first West Coast gallery exhibition in the Ferus Gallery of Los Angeles

  • Jul 9 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island
  • Jul 10 32nd All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 3-1 at D.C. Stadium, Washington

Event of Interest

Jul 10 Martin Luther King Jr. arrested during demonstration in Georgia

  • Jul 10 Telstar, 1st active communications satellite, launched, developed by American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) [1]
  • Jul 10 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
  • Jul 11 1st transatlantic TV transmission via satellite (Telstar I)
  • Jul 11 Brothers Hank snd Tommie Aaron homer in same inning
  • Jul 11 Cosmonaut Micolaev set then record longest space flight - 4 days
  • Jul 11 Fred Baldasare is 1st to swim English Channel underwater (scuba)
  • Jul 11 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
  • Jul 11 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • Jul 12 1st time 2 manned crafts in space (USSR)
  • Jul 12 Rolling Stones 1st performance (Marquee Club, London)
  • Jul 13 500 Indonesian parachutist land on New Guinea

British Golf Open

Jul 13 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Troon: Arnold Palmer wins his 2nd consecutive Open, 6 strokes clear of runner-up Kel Nagle of Australia

  • Jul 13 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • Jul 14 Borehole for Mont Blanc tunnel finished
  • Jul 14 US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site

Tour de France

Jul 15 49th Tour de France; Defending champion Jacques Anquetil of France claims his 3rd Tour victory

  • Jul 15 Algeria becomes member of Arab League
  • Jul 15 Netherlands and Indonesia reach agreement over New Guinea
  • Jul 17 East Berliner Peter Fechter flees over Berlin Wall
  • Jul 17 Robert White in X-15 sets altitude record of 108 km (354,300 ft)
  • Jul 17 Senate rejects medicare for aged
  • Jul 17 US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site

Raúl Castro Meets Khrushchev

Jul 18 Cuba's Minister of Foreign affairs Raúl Castro meets Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow [1]

Sports History

Jul 18 Minnesota Twins Bob Allison and Harmon Killebrew hit grand slams in 1st inn & Harmon Killebrew connect in a club-record, 11-run 1st inning

  • Jul 19 Hungarian communist party expels Rákosi & Gero

Music History

Jul 20 Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 13th Symphony

  • Jul 20 France and Tunisia recover diplomatic relations
  • Jul 21 160 civil right activists jailed after demonstration in Albany, Georgia
  • Jul 21 Battles on Chinese & Indies boundary
  • Jul 22 1st US Venus probe, Mariner 1, fails at lift-off
  • Jul 22 Chicago White Sox outfielder Floyd Robinson goes 6 for 6 (all singles) as WS defeat Boston Red Sox, 7-3 at Fenway Park

PGA Championship

Jul 22 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Aronimink GC: Gary Player of South Africa wins by 1 stroke from Bob Goalby

  • Jul 23 The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos is signed
  • Jul 26 Maria Oeljanov, 1st airship with nuclear missiles, arrives in Cuba

Baseball Record

Jul 26 Milwaukee Brave Warren Spahn sets HR record of 31 by a pitcher

  • Jul 27 Mariner 2 launched to Venus; flyby mission
  • Jul 27 Martin Luther King Jr. jailed in Albany, Georgia
  • Jul 27 USSR performs nuclear Test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
  • Jul 28 19 die in a train crash in Steelton, Pennsylvania
  • Jul 28 Mariner I launched to Mars falls into Atlantic Ocean
  • Jul 30 33rd All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 9-4 at Wrigley Field, Chicago, MVP: Leon Wagner (LA Angels)
  • Jul 31 England fast bowler Brian Statham becomes Test cricket's leading wicket-taker with world-record tally of 237 as Australian wicketkeeper Barry Shepherd is caught by Fred Truman for 10 in drawn 4th Test in Adelaide
1962 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Jul 1 (Martin) "Marti" Frederiksen, American songwriter, record producer, and musician (Aerosmith; Carrie Underwood; Gavin Rossdale), born in Hawthorne, California.
  • Jul 1 Andre Braugher, American Emmy Award-winning actor (Homicide: Life on the Street; Brooklyn Nine-Nine), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2023) [1]
  • Jul 2 Brandel Chamblee, American golfer, broadcaster (Golf Channel, 1 PGA Tour title), born in St Louis, Missouri
  • Jul 3 Hunter Tylo [Deborah Jo Hunter], American actress (The Bold and the Beautiful), born in Fort Worth, Texas
  • Jul 3 Thomas Gibson, American actor (Dr Daniel Nyland-Chicago Hope), born in Charleston, South Carolina

Tom Cruise (61 years old)

Jul 3 American actor (Risky Business, Jerry MaGuire, Rainman), born in Syracuse, New York

  • Jul 4 Neil Morrissey, English actor (Men Behaving Badly), born in Stafford, England
  • Jul 4 Pam Shriver, American tennis star (1991 US Open doubles/Olympic gold 1988), born in Baltimore, Maryland
  • Jul 4 Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver, born in Salzburg, Austria (d. 1994)
  • Jul 7 Clive "Doctor" Jackson, British rocker (Dr & Medics - "Laughing at Pieces"), born in Liverpool, United Kingdom
  • Jul 7 Mark White, American rock bass player (Spin Doctors - "Two Princes"; "Jimmy Olsen's Blues"), born in The Bronx, New York
  • Jul 7 Shawn Paddock, American rocker (Red Rockers)
  • Jul 8 Joan Osborne, American singer-songwriter ("One Of Us"), born in Anchorage, Kentucky
  • Jul 8 Rob Burnett, American television head writer (David Letterman), born in North Caldwell, New Jersey
  • Jul 10 Charles Papa, Kenyan comedian and actor (Papa Shirandula), born in Busia, Kenya (d. 2020)
  • Jul 11 Dale Hellestrae, NFLer (Dallas Cowboys)
  • Jul 11 Pauline McLynn, Irish actress
  • Jul 12 Julio César Chávez, Mexican boxer (WBC super featherweight title 1984-87; WBA & WBC lightweight titles 1987-89; WBC light welterweight title 1989-94, 1994-96; IBF light welterweight title 1990-91), born in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico
  • Jul 12 Stein Jorgesen, American sprint canoer (Olympic gold K-2 200m 1996; World C'ship gold 1995), born in San Diego, California
  • Jul 13 Rhonda Vincent, American bluegrass singer, songwriter, and musician, born in Kirksville, Missouri
  • Jul 13 Tom Kenny, American voice actor (SpongeBob), born in Syracuse, New York
  • Jul 14 Diane Ratnik, Canadian volleyball setter (Olympics 1992, 1996), born in Toronto, Ontario
  • Jul 14 Jeff Olson, American heavy metal drummer and keyboardist, born in Wareham, Massachusetts
  • Jul 15 Howard Gray, British audio engineer, and record producer (UB40; Apollo 440; Stealth Sonic Orchestra), born in Sydney, Australia
  • Jul 17 Bill Sage, American actor, born in New York
  • Jul 17 Jay Barrs, American archer (Olympic gold 1988, 92, 96), born in Jacksonville, Florida
  • Jul 18 Jack Irons, American drummer (Red Hot Chilli Peppers), born in Los Angeles, California
  • Jul 18 Jensen Buchanan, American actress (Vicky/Marley-Another World), born in Montgomery, Alabama
  • Jul 18 Lee Arenberg, American actor (Pintel - Pirates of the Caribbean), born in Palo Alto, California
  • Jul 18 Shaun Micallef, Australian comedian

Anthony Edwards (61 years old)

Jul 19 American actor (It Takes Two, Dr Greene-ER), born in Santa Barbara, California

  • Jul 19 Craig Muni, NHL defenseman (Winnipeg Jets), born in Toronto, Ontario
  • Jul 20 Carlos Alazraqui, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (Reno 911!; The Fairly OddParents), born in Yonkers, New York
  • Jul 20 Giovanna Amati, Italian race car driver, born in Rome, Italy
  • Jul 21 Ike Eisenmann, American actor (Scott-Fantastic Journey), born in Houston, Texas
  • Jul 21 Lee Aaron [Karen Lynn Greening], Canadian rock singer (Metal Queen), born in Belleville, Ontario
  • Jul 22 Alvin Robertson, NBA guard (Toronto Raptors)
  • Jul 22 Martine St. Clair [Nault], Canadian pop singer, born in Montreal, Quebec
  • Jul 22 Steve Albini, American writer, recording engineer and musician (Big Black, Rapeman, Shellac), born in Pasedena, California
  • Jul 23 Eriq La Salle, American actor (Dr Peter Benton-ER), born in Hartford, Connecticut
  • Jul 23 Terry-Jo Myers, American golfer (3 LPGA Tour titles; 1998 Ben Hogan Award), born in Ft Myers, Florida
  • Jul 24 Cleo Rocos, British-Greek comic actress (The Kenny Everett Television Show), born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Jul 24 Kevin Butler, American College Football HOF placekicker (University of Georgia; Super Bowl 1985 Chicago Bears), born in Savannah, Georgia
  • Jul 25 David Korevaar, American concert pianist and educator (University of Colorado), born in Madison, Wisconsin
  • Jul 25 Doug Drabek, American MLB pitcher (NL Cy Young Award 1990), born in Victoria, Texas
  • Jul 25 Mike Buncic, American discus thrower, born in Patterson, New Jersey
  • Jul 26 Galina Chistyakova, Russian jumper (world record 1988), born in Izmail, Ukraine
  • Jul 28 Rachel Sweet, American singer, born in Akron, Ohio
  • Jul 29 Corinne Dibnah, Australian golfer (British Open 1988; LET Order of Merit 1991), born in Brisbane, Queensland
  • Jul 29 Scott Steiner, American professional wrestler
  • Jul 29 Vincent Rousseau, Belgian athlete
  • Jul 30 Andy Green, British Royal Air Force and 1st to break sound barrier on land, born in Atherstone, Warwickshire, England
  • Jul 30 Jay Feaster, American National Hockey League executive, born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  • Jul 30 Tom Pagnozzi, American baseball catcher (St Louis Cardinals), born in Tucson, Arizona
  • Jul 30 Vladimir Dezhurov, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-21), born in Yavas, Mordovia, Soviet Union
  • Jul 31 John Chiang, American politician (Democratic Party), born in New York City
  • Jul 31 Kevin Greene, American Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker (5 x Pro Bowl; First-team All-Pro 1989, 94, 96; LA Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers), born in Schenectady, New York (d. 2020)
  • Jul 31 Sandra Hodge, American basketball player (one of 1st four women to join Harlem Globetrotters), born in Clinton, Mississippi
  • Jul 31 Troy Murray, Canadian NHL center, broadcaster (Chicago Black Hawks), born in Calgary, Alberta

Wesley Snipes (61 years old)

Jul 31 American actor (Passenger 57, Money Train, Blade trilogy), born in Orlando, Florida


Born in 1962

Famous Weddings

Lenny Wilkens

Jul 28 NBA player Lenny Wilkens (24) weds Marilyn Reed

Famous Deaths

  • Jul 4 Rex Bell [George Francis Beldam], American cowboy actor (Cowboys & Injuns) and 21st Lieutenant Governor of Nevada, dies from a heart attack at 58
  • Jul 6 Archduke Joseph August of Austria, Austrian field marshal, dies at 89
  • Jul 6 George, Duke of Mecklenburg, head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, dies at 63

William Faulkner (1897-1962)

Jul 6 American author (As I Lay Dying, Nobel Prize for Literature 1949), dies at 64

  • Jul 8 Georges Bataille, French writer and philosopher (b. 1897)

Owen D. Young (1874-1962)

Jul 11 American industrialist (RCA) and diplomat (Young Plan), dies at 87

  • Jul 12 Roger Wolfe Kahn, American bandleader ("I'm Sitting On Top Of The World"), and aviator, dies of a heart attack at 54
  • Jul 16 Jan Romein, Dutch historian and author (Low Countries by the Sea; Erflaters - both written with his wife Annie), dies at 68
  • Jul 20 André Renard, Belgium worker's union leader (MSU), dies at 51
  • Jul 20 George MacAulay Trevelyan, English royal historian, dies at 86
  • Jul 21 G. M. Trevelyan [George Macaulay Trevelyan], British historian and academic, dies at 86
  • Jul 24 Victor Moore, American comedian (Ziegfeld Follies, 7 Year Itch), dies of a heart attack at 86
  • Jul 25 Thibaudeau Rinfret, Canadian jurist and Chief Justice (b. 1879)
  • Jul 27 Conrad Elvehjem, American biochemist and nutrition scientist (discovered niacin), dies at 61
  • Jul 27 Edward Godfrey Richard Aldington, novelist/biographer, dies
  • Jul 27 James H. "Dutch" Kindelberger, American aerospace pioneer (b. 1895)
  • Jul 27 Richard Adlington, writer, dies at 70
  • Jul 30 Myron McCormick, American actor (China Girl, Jigsaw), dies of cancer at 54